The Madras High Court has directed Karaikal Municipality Commissioner to not draw his salary until he removes an unauthorised construction put up by a temple. The court said that public servants were being paid from the State exchequer only for taking action against illegalities and not otherwise.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by A. Marie Lourdu Raj of Karaikal to prevent the management of Poiyamurthy Vinayagar Temple from constructing a Mandapam (canopy).
The counsel for the municipality commissioner conceded that the temple had raised an unauthorised construction. He said that the local body had issued a show cause notice to the temple and followed it up with an eviction notice too on January 28 this year. However, subsequently, the present petition was filed.
